The Florida Recycling Partnership Foundation commissioned its first study to more accurately determine the amount of contamination in the recycled materials being collected. Dr. Tim Townsend and the Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences at the University of Florida (UF) conducted the research on the current and historic composition of recycled materials at Materials Recovery Facilities’ (MRFs) and amount of contamination.
Materials from curbside bins and commercial businesses taken to MRFs are sorted to separate valuable recyclable materials from contamination. Recyclable materials are sent to processers to become new materials. Contaminated materials are sent to a landfill for disposal. Contamination occurs when garbage or non-recyclable items are mixed in with valuable recyclables in the bin or cart. The contamination can cause an entire load of recyclable material to go to the landfill instead of being recycled.
The UF research focused on studying the types and weights of valuable materials and contamination handled at the facilities. The data was used to quantify historic contamination rates, which is defined in the study as the percent of total inbound weight that was ultimately landfilled. The study found that on a historic average weight basis, the overall contamination rate is 25% for all MRFs, 27% for single-stream MRFs, and 18% for dual-stream MRFs. “In the last few years we have seen a gradual increase in the contamination rate and anticipate that more attention will be needed to maintain the cleanest recyclables stream, ” said Dr. Townsend.
“Increasing the collection of more valuable recyclable materials is the top priority,” said Kim Brunson, –Publix Super Markets Facility Services Business Relationship Manager and Foundation Chair. “Our goal, as a Foundation, is to increase participation in recycling the right things and reducing the use of recycling bins for things that belong in a garbage can. The UF study has developed a baseline of how much non- recyclable materials are going to the MRFs. Hopefully, with education and positive messaging, we can change consumer habits so that only proper recyclables are placed in recycle bins in order to reduce the amount of contamination going to MRFs.”